RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside downed UC Santa Barbara 62-52 on Thursday night at the SRC Arena. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• UCR forced back-to-back Gaucho turnovers to start the game, capitalizing off both mistakes.  
• Seneca Hackley swished a corner three on the break for the Highlanders' second bucket in half a minute following a minute-long scoring drought. UCR tied the game at 13 on Hackley's triple. 
• The graduate student's perfect start from the field bled into the second quarter; Hackley's steal and fastbreak layup gave the Highlanders their biggest lead of the night thus far at 29-20. 
• Zoe Tillery took it herself for the driving layup midway through the second quarter before UCR forced the seventh Santa Barbara turnover of the night.  
• Shelley Duchemin stretched the lead to double digits with an inside jumper, making it a 12-2 UC Riverside run in just over five and a half minutes.  
• Tillery completed the four-point play on a made corner three to begin the second half. The junior played a critical role in a 9-0 Highlander scoring spurt late in the fourth quarter. 

NOTABLES 

• The Highlanders shot 72.7% in the first quarter, connecting on five of their final six attempts of the frame.  
• UC Riverside ended the first half on a 10-0 run and 21-5 over the final 10:07. The Highlanders forced 11 turnovers in the first half and generated 46% of their first half scoring off turnovers.  
• Hackley registered her third double-digit scoring effort of the season with 10 points while Tillery poured in a season-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. 
• UC Riverside posted its fifth double-digit halftime advantage in its last nine games, second in its last three games and third of Big West play after leading the Gauchos by 17 at the intermission.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside returns to action on Saturday, January 18 at UC San Diego for a 2:00 p.m. tip on ESPN+.